Saturday, October 28, 2023

Russian Official States Nuclear War No Closer Despite Treaty Action

Date:

Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in the New START arms reduction treaty with the United States has raised fears that the nearly year-long conflict in Ukraine could escalate into a global nuclear war. However, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has stated that he does not believe the decision to suspend the treaty increases the risk of a nuclear conflict. Ryabkov further added that it would be up to Russian President Vladimir Putin to determine whether Moscow could return to the pact.

The New START agreement is the last major pillar of post-Cold War nuclear arms control between Russia and the US, and limits their strategic nuclear arsenals. Despite suspending its participation in the treaty, Russia’s foreign and defence ministries have said that Moscow will continue abiding by the restrictions outlined in New START on the number of nuclear warheads it can deploy and the number of nuclear missile carriers.

US President Joe Biden has called Putin’s move a “big mistake” as he headed into a meeting with leaders of NATO’s eastern flank in Warsaw. Meanwhile, China has pledged to deepen cooperation with Russia, highlighting growing geopolitical tensions as the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches.

During a meeting at the Kremlin, China’s top diplomat Wang Li told Putin that Beijing is ready to enhance ties. Putin responded by saying he was looking forward to a visit to Moscow by Chinese President Xi Jinping in the coming months and a deeper partnership with Beijing.

Xi is expected to make a “peace speech” on Friday – exactly a year since tens of thousands of Russian troops funneled into Ukraine from the north, south and east. Kyiv says there can be no talk of peace while Moscow’s forces remain in the country.

Later on Wednesday, Putin delivered a second combative speech in as many days to a patriotic concert at a Moscow sports arena aimed at rallying public support for Russia’s bloody offensive. He hailed Russian troops as “heroic” and said they were fighting for the country’s “historic frontiers” and to protect its “interests, people, culture, language and territory”.

However, European Union countries failed to agree on new sanctions against Russia meant to be in place for the one-year anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday, diplomatic sources in Brussels said. The proposed package features trade curbs worth more than 10 billion euros ($10.6bn), according to the bloc’s chief executive, and also includes a ban on EU imports of Russian rubber.

The decision by Russia to suspend its participation in the New START arms reduction treaty with the United States has raised concerns that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into a global nuclear war. However, Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, has stated that he does not believe this decision increases the risk of a nuclear conflict. Furthermore, Russia has said that it will continue abiding by the restrictions outlined in New START on the number of nuclear warheads it can deploy and the number of nuclear missile carriers.

US President Joe Biden has called Putin’s move a “big mistake” as he headed into a meeting with leaders of NATO’s eastern flank in Warsaw. Meanwhile, China has pledged to deepen cooperation with Russia, highlighting growing geopolitical tensions as the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches. During a meeting at the Kremlin, China’s top diplomat Wang Li told Putin that Beijing is ready to enhance ties.

Putin later delivered a second combative speech at a Moscow sports arena aimed at rallying public support for Russia’s offensive. He hailed Russian troops as “heroic” and said they were fighting for the country’s “historic frontiers” and to protect its “interests, people, culture, language and territory”.

However, European Union countries failed to agree on new sanctions against Russia meant to be in place for the one-year anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday, diplomatic sources in Brussels said. The proposed package features trade curbs worth more than 10 billion euros ($10.6bn), according to the bloc’s chief executive, and also includes a ban on EU imports of Russian rubber.

Overall, while Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in the New START arms reduction treaty with the United States has raised fears that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate into a global nuclear war, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has stated that he does not believe this decision increases the risk of a nuclear conflict. Furthermore, US President Joe Biden has called Putin’s move a “big mistake” as he headed into a meeting with leaders of NATO’s eastern flank in Warsaw. China has also pledged to deepen cooperation with Russia and European Union countries have failed to agree on new sanctions against Russia meant to be in place for the one-year anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday.

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